Focus on autonomy: Using 'Skills for Growing Up' in pediatric rehabilitation care.
Sander R Hilberink, Anneke Grootoonk, Marjolijn Ketelaar and 3 others
PMID 32444575WHAT IT FOUND
Youth with disabilities and parents found the Dutch Skills for Growing Up checklist useful for choosing personal goals and discussing future autonomy.
The study reported experiences, not proof that autonomy or life skills improved.
Key findings
01Youth reported that the SGU-D helped them choose goals and talk about important issues with parents.
02Professionals helped clarify future perspectives, but users needed more support to turn goals into concrete steps.
03Only 56% of trained professionals considered the training sufficient to introduce the SGU-D in their own setting.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The evaluation used a convenience sample from four settings and included 30 persons, so the experiences may not represent all pediatric rehabilitation services. The study did not compare youth and parent perspectives directly, and the sample was too small for age-specific analysis by SGU-D list. Positive experiences were reported, but the authors state this does not show the tool is effective. Use was low intensity and personalized, making it hard to choose outcome measures and follow-up. The yes/no response format was sometimes difficult, and some parents stopped after filling it out once. Only 56% of trained professionals considered the training sufficient for implementation in their own setting.
Declared interests
No conflict-of-interest statement is included in the article text. The paper is supported by non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the SGU-D improves autonomy or life-skills. The study reports qualitative experiences from a small convenience sample, and the authors state that positive experiences do not necessarily reflect effectiveness.